Churchill said the bear was spotted the morning of Sept. 6 at Bennett Elementary school. Later that day, at 12:27 p.m. The Colorado State University Police Department tweeted that a bear was spotted on the northwest corner of Prospect Street and Shields Street.

According to Kate Kimble, the public relations manager at Fort Collins Police Department, there were some reports of the bear, but the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department took care of it. There were no injuries reported, Kimble said.

Churchill said about one to two bears come into Fort Collins every year. The last incident was earlier in spring.

“I think people need to understand Fort Collins is adjacent to wildlife habitats,” Churchill said. “Animals will come in (from) time to time.”

According to Churchill, people should learn what animals are out there but should not encourage those animals to get too comfortable.

“We need to keep our wildlife wild,” Churchill said.

According to Churchill, when Parks and Wildlife confronted the bear, it climbed away up a nearby tree.

“This bear was kind of high, which concerned my officer,” Churchill said. “We called Poudre Fire Authority, (and they) came to assist us with a ladder truck.”

After tranquilizing the bear, PFA helped push the bear out of the tree. A tarp was placed underneath the tree to brace the bear’s fall.

According to Churchill, the bear will be ear tagged, so Colorado Parks and Wildlife can recognize the bear if it wanders into the City again.

Collegian news reporter Abby Currie can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @abcchic15.

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